Candela Fine Art Printing

All about Drum Scanning

After operating many different types of scanners (Heidelberg Tango and Primescan drum, CCD scanners from Imacon and Nikon Coolscans) since 2005, the Howtek Hi-Resolve is the one we chose to invest in. Why?

• Great scans, regardless of whether its negative or transparency film: The Howtek Hi-Resolve handles color (and black-and-white) negatives with ease. We use the latest version of Digital PhotoLab (the software required to drive the scanner) which delivers excellent results from color negatives (and transparencies too)! With other scanners, color negatives have traditionally been difficult to scan as the scanner software was designed for transparency film. The Howtek scanner and DPL software creates great files with excellent color balance and smoothness with all film types.
• Up to 8000dpi resolution: It has higher resolution than popular Imacon scanners (Imacons are limited to 3200dpi for 120 film and 2400dpi for 4″ x 5″), Nikon (4000dpi) and other flatbeds, to get every ounce of detail out of your film.
• Unparalleled sharpness: Film is wet-mounted for maximum clarity and held absolutely flat against the drum when scanning, for perfect edge-to-edge sharpness.
• Better highlight and shadow detail: If your film recorded it, the scanner will get it. Clean shadows, clean highlights, with a minimum of noise and artifacts.
• No scanner flare: Scanner flare happens to CCD scanners (Imacon and Nikon) when the scanner encounters a transition between a very bright area (light skies, for example) and the film holder (black). The flare bleeds into the image and creates a dark band across the top of your scan. The Howtek drum scanner doesn’t suffer from scanner flare!
• Variable apertures for the best grain: Many scanners have a fixed aperture lens and can exaggerate grain in some films, especially when scanning at very high resolutions. The Howtek has user-selectable apertures for the best results based on the film type. This allows the utmost control in scanning and obtains better grain rendition, with optimal results for each emulsion.
• Film borders or irregularly shaped film: Imacon and flatbed scanners usually cut off some (or all) of your film borders or rebate as the film holders obscure the edges of your film. Drum scanners don’t suffer from this issue; you can scan the entire image plus film borders, sprocket holes, overlapping Holga frames, an entire strip of film even!

Coming up in a future post will be a detailed comparison of scans made on different drum, flatbed, and Imacon scanners you can see the results for yourself.